Shellee Howard
Expert
Meet Shellee Howard
Shellee Howard is the founder and CEO of College Ready. Her work helps students and their families approach college admissions with a plan that considers academic interests, personal goals, and affordability.
A former academic advisor, Shellee works across admissions strategy, essays, financial aid, and scholarships. She also hosts Parents: Is Your Teen College Ready?, bringing college-planning conversations to families who are figuring out where to begin.
Her approach puts the student at the center of the process: understanding their strengths, exploring their options, and choosing a path with purpose.
Our conversation with Shellee
Who is the college decision really for—the student, the parents, or the name on the sweatshirt?
In Season 2, Episode 3 of Between Us Mother-Daughter Unfiltered (BUMDU), Shellee joins Zeynep and Tara Khaleesi for a conversation about preparing for college while keeping the student’s own interests and ambitions in view.
We bring questions from both sides of the family conversation. Zeynep considers the planning and decisions parents face; Tara Khaleesi asks about the future she and other students are beginning to imagine for themselves.
Inside the conversation
When to begin planning, and how to balance preparation with exploration.
Turning interests into a thoughtful college plan.
Prestige, selective universities, and the question of personal fit.
Gap years and alternative timelines.
AP courses, college credit, and questions to ask about academic options.
International study and how AI may shape future choices.
Giving students a meaningful voice in their own education.
A student’s future. A family conversation.
This episode creates space for parents and teens to ask different questions about the same decision—and to listen to the answers together.
College planning with purpose
College Ready supports families as they work through admissions planning, school selection, and the financial questions that accompany higher education.
For this Spotlight, our focus is the conversation that happens before a college list is finalized: what matters to the student, what the family can realistically support, and how to make room for exploration while preparing for the next step.
Areas of expertise
College admissions strategy and preparation.
Finding colleges that match a student’s interests and goals.
Scholarship and financial-aid planning.
Helping families make informed education decisions.
Keep the conversation going
Explore Shellee’s college-planning resources